Benacia

From Bosworth

Benacia is a continent on Micras. It is considered to include the Benacian mainland, the Benacian Archipelago of Naudia'Diva, Benacia Island, and Florencia, the Yardistani Archipelago of Khaz Modan, Mirioth, Amity, Yardistan, and Istvanistan, and the northern islands of Lesser Automatica and Hyperborea.

Origins and Etymology

East Benacia was on the first MCS maps (pre-numbering system and 1.0.0), while West Benacia was added at the same time as the Eastern Hemisphere. Benacia was named after the town of Benicia, California, near where MCS Founder Erik Metzler lived. It originally shared its name with the Island of Benacia and the Benacian Commonwealth. It is unclear whether the commonwealth was named after the continent, the continent named after the commonwealth, both named after the island, or what.

History

The Benacian Commonwealth (June 2001 - November 2001) was an alliance of Shireroth, Machiavellia, and Hyperborea, and between the three countries controlled the entire continent. It eventually became the Hegemony of Alexandros and later Tymaria, but dissolved with the fall of that nation. Since then, the eastern half of the continent has been dominated by Shireroth until the present day. The eastern half became unoccupied after the fall of Machiavellia, but has since hosted nations such as Puritania (Series 5), Numenor (Series 11), and currently Batavie. Eastern Benacia has historically been one of the least popular areas for claims, maybe because of the constant dominating presence of Shireroth.

Geography

West Benacia is a fairly mountainous region, culminating in two peninsulae jutting out into the sea. The mountain ranges come together to form the spine of the continent, the Concordian Mountains, in south-central Benacia. These feature the tallest peak in the world, Mt. Medivh in the Unoccupied Territories, just a little shorter than Everest at 8089 meters tall. South of the mountains is a mild desert; north are the cold wastes of Elwynn. Eastern Benacia is the drainage basin of the great River Elwynn and its many tributaries, most notably the North Elwynn and the South Elwynn. The Elwynn area of Shireroth has a second, smaller mountain range and is heavily forested. In the far west of the continent are the mountains of Goldshire, the marshy Elwynn Delta near Musica, and hundreds of little tidal islands. Also Benacia is the home of the Duchy of Gascony, a main part of the Kingdom of Bosworth's stone and marble production.